How hard is it for an American to be hired as a truck driver in Australia?

Normal going rate of pay is between about $18.00au to $21.00au per hour plus overtime rates (overtime example = based on a rate of say $18.00/hour would be first 8 hours you are paid $18.00/hr, next 3 hours you get $27.00/hr, there after $36.00/hr) Some business pay a flat rate around about $20.00/hr to $25.00/hr, others normally when doing interstate work pay per km/mile travelled and this rate various from about 32cents per km to about 42cents/km. hope this helps.

P.s hey donk any chance of getting some info from you about owner/driver/subbie info, i am going out on my own next year and need advice/tips, thanks in advance.

 

if you have any Q's fire away. not sure how much help i will be but i will let you know what i can

 

Hey lupe, yeah thats something only an ausse who's worked over in the USA can answer so i'll do it seeing how i hauled the 53' over there we were paid 32 c a mile which wasn't to bad for new drivers in the USA , however in Australia we are paid by the Km so last time i drove which was NSW it was around 33c a km your doing more KM then miles so the pay check should be bigger however the aussie $ is weaker then the US$ so you'd have to do the conversion but in a week you'd do around 2500 miles thats 2500 x 32c some how i still think you'd make more driving in Australia its just that the standards over here are alot lower after what your used to over there i don't think you would like the conditions over here very much after driving OTR in the USA i'd never drive line haul in Australia again to many rough roads and crazy dopped up drivers.

 

you cant just compare $... You cant directly convert via exchange rates..

Look at how Little the aussie dollar buys in AU, and look how much the US dollar buys in the us...

Last time i worked it out as a comparison, most things were 2x the cost here..

and that DIDNT include real estate!

 

At the end of day Donk it all comes down to what is in your bank account and thats where the conversion comes into yeah i guess you do make a point on external costs though because the US is definatly cheaper to live motels are cheaper rents are cheaper food is cheaper with the mining boom on most of the major cities are charging ridiculas rates for rent so yeah ya might gets lots of pennies for working here in OZ but have to blow it all on the "extras"

 

my point.. raw numbers dont accuratley reflect the worth of what you earn.

 

well looking at a currency calculator 150K USD is woth 151K AUS so not a WORLD of difference but a little. the housing seems to be roughly the same i suppose, but i dunno where im looking so it could be a crappy house n an expensive neighborhood, looks like a decent house with a little property would cost around 300K (enuf 2 park tractor trailer) wich is about the same here roughly, but i live in FL property is a little more expensive vs elswhere..i guess i can look into how much amenities cost...heard fuel is crazy tho? like 4 somthin a litre????? i would love to move to australia its allways inspired my curiousity..but uhhhh dont u guys ride on the wrong side of the truck? I.E pass side for US? might be hard to adjust to shifting with my left hand...

 

At the moment, we are enjoying a high exchange rate, but like always, it wont last forever...

75-80 cents is the usual rate.

Rigs start at $220K for a crappy euro thing, and if you want a kenworth, be prepared to smack down $300K....

and there are increasingly more places that will not allow you to park yuor rig on your own property....

 

At the moment with out $ pretty much on parity with the US $ i'd have to say that you'd definatly make more money over here when i drove in the USA were were on 32c a mile not bad for a first time driver over here if you doing line haul or OTR you'll be paid a km rate around 34 c per km not bad cause you do more km than miles per day but some companies will pay you by the hr usually the mines and other trucking companies that you could work for where your home every night and just drive locally .